A not guilty plea, and a second recall petition, in Stevenson official’s indecent exposure incidents

“After witnessing two separate acts of public indecency by council member Lauser, one of which resulted in a criminal citation…I felt compelled to act.” Fitzgerald said in an interview.

Lauser, who is a transgender woman, maintains that both incidents were political actions to draw attention to trans and gender rights. She appealed a county court decision June 17 that allowed Fitzgerald’s first recall petition to move forward, and that appeal is now pending at the state Supreme Court.

“I think she’s wasting people’s time,” Lauser said, about Fitzgerald’s second petition. “Time and money.”

Fitzgerald says she feels the issues are important to the community. “I don’t feel like I’m doing this for myself. It’s kind of like God leading me,” she said. “It just seems to be the right thing to do.”

Her second petition includes the police report and 911 call records regarding Lauser’s July 4 arrest, as well as a “friend-of-court” brief drafted mid-June by Stevenson city attorney Robert Muth. The brief addressed Fitzgerald’s first recall petition and was never filed with the court, but Fitzgerald obtained it through a public records request.

The draft brief raises questions about the first petition, such as whether the lack of criminal charges cited in it weakened the required “legal sufficiency,” and whether Lauser’s actions were related to or affected her official duties as a city council member. 

“Recall is not intended to address purely private conduct unless such conduct directly impacts the official’s ability to perform public duties or constitutes an abuse of office,” the draft brief says. 

Muth told Uplift Local that he and Skamania County prosecutor Adam Kick discussed whether the city should weigh in on the first recall with legal guidance for the court. Unlike the county, the city is not required to do so. 

Muth said after consulting with the county prosecutor “I decided not to file the brief because it wasn’t relevant at that point.”

He made it clear that he does not represent Lauser and the city is not taking a position on Fitzgerald’s efforts, saying that is for voters to decide.

He also noted that Stevenson’s budget would be affected if the Supreme Court allows it to go forward. “It will cost between $20,000 and $25,000 to run a recall,” he said.

Fitzgerald said that although Muth’s brief was never filed, she “felt it was necessary in this situation to do a second recall to make sure that everything is very solid and there aren’t any loopholes.”

Lauser, for her part, said she believes some community members are upset at Muth for appearing to be generally supportive of her. 

“They’re targeting anyone associated with me,” she said.

Lauser says she feels less anxious than she had after her arrest and the first hearing in the criminal case. 

During her Aug. 4 arraignment, her court-appointed attorney Gregory S. Cheney did not appear and another, Brian Pruett, stepped in. Skamania County District Court Judge Ronald Reynier, overseeing the proceedings, said Cheney had asked to be removed from the case due to an unspecified conflict.

“Normally, the way I handle this, is to get some understanding of what the nature of the conflict is,” the judge said, but he declined to ask either Pruett or Lauser for details, since he was new to the case and she has the right to remain silent. 

After the hearing, Lauser said it was “a personal conflict” but gave no further details.

Reynier appointed Pruett as Lauser’s new attorney, and he promptly entered her not guilty plea.

Indecent exposure is classified as a misdemeanor, with a maximum punishment of a $1000 fine and 90 days in jail. However, if children younger than 14 were present, charges could increase to “gross misdemeanor”, which carries a larger maximum fine of $5000 and a year in jail.

The prosecuting attorney, Elise Howard, has not yet clarified whether she has enough evidence to increase the charge to a “gross misdemeanor”.

“That’ll need to be cleared up,” Judge Reynier told Howard in court. “I don’t want to be here four weeks from now [and] be in the same situation.”

Lauser’s next court appearance related to the indecent exposure charge is Sept. 2. Washington’s Supreme Court is awaiting further filings in the first recall case, and the Skamania County Superior Court has two weeks to consider the second recall petition.